How to Swallow an Elephant

I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine. Ready? Here it goes, I am not an organized person. I’m a feel my way through life, see how the day goes, if there is a spot on the shelf something gets placed there (instead of where it should go), type of person. So how does someone like me get anything done, like write a novel? I’ll tell you. I’m stubborn. Generally speaking my stubbornness works against me but in this case it drives me to finish what I set out to do.

Now, like I said I’m not structured. When I get the urge to write, I write. This works fine except I’d like to be on my second draft of Remaining Aileen by the end of summer. Here’s what I did to ensure I reach my goal, May 4, 2015 I made a pledge to myself and social media that I will set 30 minutes aside everyday to write or edit. Thanks to my stubborn pride I am determined to accomplish this until Remaining Aileen is completed. There are days I barely get those 30 minutes in (you know, I have three kids and a list of other excuses), but there are also days where 30 minutes turns into hours. When you take time to write every day magic happens. I hope I can be an example to the other free spirits out there, that you don’t have to be a super organized person to be a writer (although I’m sure it helps).

If you are a writer and would like a little motivation to write on a daily basis, join a writing challenge. There are many out there. Two specific ones I’ll share are Writerology’s Write Chain Challenge, and She’s Novel’s 30 Day Author Up Challenge . I joined Writerology’s Write Chain Challenge. It’s been such a great reminder for me to stick to my pledge of 30 minutes a day. My goal may seem small, but I know myself and my stubbornness will only take me so far. Each day I earn a link for my write chain and get a place on the Write Chain leaderboard. It’s fun and helps me in getting closer to a finished novel. How do you swallow an elephant (or in my case write a novel)? One bite (one word) at a time!